Radiation shielding in hospitals

Minelco has concluded a number of agreements for the delivery of Minelco MagnaDense to be used for the production of magnetite concrete walls in radiation oncology departments in hospitals.

One of the customers is Velde Betong, a Norwegian private owned company operating a quarry of granite reserves on the south west coast of Norway. Beyond aggregate production, Velde also operates as a road building contractor and a ready mixed concrete supplier. In competition with several other companies, Velde won the order to deliver concrete to the expansion project of Stavanger University Hospital radiation oncology unit.

More weight less volumeMinelco MagnaDense from Minelco plays an important role in the hospital's oncology department. When used as a concrete aggregate, densitites of up to 60% more than traditional concrete can be achieved. This saves a lot of space and significantly reduces the wall thickness. In addition, treatment rooms with thinner walls increase comfort for the cancer patients.

Sven-Henrik Norman, Product Manager at Velde Betong AS, comments:”This has been a new and interesting project for us. Since we did not have any previous experience with this type of concrete, we had to try out the recipe in our laboratory first and make some minor adjustments on cement and plasticizer dosage.

Before starting the production, we had a very close dialogue with Minelco, the hospital project management, the consultants and the contractor. Minelco gave advice and put us in touch with people who had worked with this type of concrete before. It was of course critical that the concrete should reach the required density and strength so we focused on all aspects of the process, from mixing plant to pumping. The high density will of course result in less loaded volume in each truck and careful planning of the pumping.

We were all well prepared and it paid off. The concrete with the Minelco MagnaDense aggregate was predictable and stable and the job was finished according to plan. We reached both the required strength and density. The technical and logistical support from Minelco throughout the whole process has been excellent. This gave us reassurance all the way through working with a new type of concrete with these special properties. If we would get more enquiries for high density concrete, I would use the Minelco MagnaDense aggregate again.”